Surviving the Wilderness
by Villains' Bad Girl
Summary: Times of peace in Thorn Valley is over. Can Justin survive the wilderness of the woods alone and save the valley? sequel to Never Give Up
1. Late Night Battle

_Hey-O! I promised I would be back if I thought of anything, didn't I? Enjoy!_

* * *

Kristy had just set the triplets down to sleep. Times were difficult in Thorn Valley. Lately there had been predators who had been trying to come into the valley. Predators that posed a threat to the rats. They had already fought off snakes, now they were faced with something more deadly. Justin had taken the valley's best fighters to guard the borders.

"Oh, Justin", Kristy said looking down. "Please protect us. Protect the boys."

She looked over to Evan's empty bed knowing how brave he must've been fighting along side his father. Kristy opened the shutters to of the window, looking out over the valley. It was so quiet. The lights from other homes were lit, showing the rats in their homes in peace. Kristy looked up at the bordering mountain where Justin and the boys were. She put her hands together in a prayer for her family's safe return.

"Please come home safe to me..."

She gasped as she heard the alarm go off. Thorn valley was under attack. All of the lights in the valley were turned off for their safety as a flock of owls were seen in the sky. Kristy gasped in fear, worried for the boys. There was nothing she could do now. She closed the shutters and shut off the light, leaving her and the girls in the darkness.

* * *

Justin, along with Brutus, Evan, Tim, Martin and other rats were fighting a flock of owls that were trying to invade the valley. They couldn't let any of the owls into the valley, knowing they would eat them all, but it was hard with the owls in the air and the rats on the ground.

Tim and Martin were using new weapons they made themselves to fight off the owls. Justin was using bolas to try and bring the owls down, but getting the ropes to wrap around their wings. Evan was using a bow and arrows, hoping that it would at least help slow down the owls enough for the others to bring them down.

"Dad, there's so many!" Evan said trying to chose an owl to aim for.

"Don't use that as an excuse to give up!" Justin said throwing a bola at an owl.

The stones at the end of the rope swung around the owl, making the rope wrap around it. Evan fired his arrow, hitting an owl in the bottom of its foot. The owl screeched in pain and lowered itself to the ground, giving Tim and Martin the opportunity to fire their onager, launching spears at the owl.

"What did I tell you, hero?" Martin asked patting Tim. "Nothing to it."

"You're right", Tim said. "It is just a giant slingshot."

"Talk about that later, boys", Justin said throwing another bola.

As the rats fought the flock of owls, no one noticed the owl perched on the top of the mountain. The owl rolled his eyes as he watched. None of these owls were doing what he wanted. Then again, if you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself. The owl spread his wings and swooped down toward the rats. He knew which one was the main target.

"Dad, look out!" Evan yelled.

Justin turned to see what Evan was pointing at and gasped when an owl wrapped his foot around him, carrying him off into the air.

"Dad!"

Justin gasped as he felt the owl tighten his grip around him. He reached his hand as best as he could to his belt. He managed to get a grip onto his sword and pulled it out as best as he could. The owl screeched in pain as he felt the sharp metal and released Justin.

"DAD!" Evan yelled as he watched his father fall from the sky.


	2. Aeris

The sound of owls screeching echoed throughout Thorn Valley. It was almost haunting. There almost seemed to be no more signs of battle. What had happened? Kristy opened the shutters to see the owls flying over the valley.

"Mom!"

She gasped as she saw one of the owls carry Evan in his claws. Where was Justin? Everyone in the valley concerned about what was going on started opening their doors and their shutters, looking outside. The owl carrying Evan landed on top of the Brisby statues.

"Low-life rats of Thorn Valley!" he addressed. "I am Aeris…and I am the new leader of this valley."

The rats looked at each other and chattered in fear and confusion. What did he mean the new leader? What was going on? Kristy stepped forward glaring at him.

"Who are you to say you're the new leader?" she asked. "My husband will drive you out of this place."

Evan looked down sad. He said nothing to defend his mother's words. Kristy looked at him worried. Where was Justin? Why weren't these owls dealt with if he was still around?

"Where's Justin?" Kristy asked.

Tim and Martin looked away unable to speak while the owl just smirked. Evan looked down as he cried. Kristy looked around scared.

"Justin!" she called.

"Dad, gave it all he could..." Evan said struggling to talk. "Mom, you got to believe me, we did everything we can to help him."

"Where is he?" Kristy asked beginning to lose her composure.

Tim and Martin began to cry. They couldn't look at their aunt like this. Tears came to her eyes as she began to realize what Evan was saying.

"Where?" she repeated.

"He's gone, mom...the owl...dropped him from the sky. All we found was his sword..."

Aeris smirked as he tossed Justin's sword to the ground. Tears freely fell from Kristy's eyes as she picked up the sword. She couldn't believe it. Justin couldn't be dead, he was stronger than that.

"Justin..." she cried softly.

Aeris watched her amused and looked down at the mice and rats looking down in disbelief. They didn't want to believe their leader was dead. The other owls looked at him, waiting for him to say something.

"You monster!" Kristy yelled as she got up. "I'll kill you!"

She swung her sword as she ran toward Aeris. He screeched at her and released Evan from his grip. Aeris grabbed Kristy and flew up high into the air.

"Would you like to join your precious Justin?" he asked holding her high above the valley.

She looked down scared. As much as she wanted to die to be with Justin, she had to hold out hope that he was still alive. Not just that, she still had the children to take care. With Justin gone, she was now the overseer of the valley. When Kristy didn't answer, Aeris smirked as he landed on the ground.

"That's what I thought", he said. "Now, unless you want to end up like him, you will all do as I say. Thorn Valley is mine now."


	3. Justin

Justin coughed weakly as he laid by the side of the river. He opened his eyes to see the sun shining down on him. The last thing he remembered was fighting with the owls. One of them dropped him from the sky. Luckily, the wind blew him down toward the river, landing in the water instead of on the ground. The river had swept Justin away in its strong currents.

Justin sat up and looked around trying to figure out where he was. Nothing looked familiar, indicating he was no longer in the valley. He sighed trying to figure out what to do. It was morning, so most of the forest's predators were settling down to sleep until night. Justin sighed as he remembered the owls.

"Kristy…"

He had to get back to Thorn Valley as fast as he could. He had to protect his people. Justin's stomach growled, making him sigh. It was just one problem on top of another. Justin's ears perked up as he heard a noise up ahead. He climbed up on top of a rock to see what was close by.

A bear.

The bear smiled as she watched her young cub tumble around, playing in the early morning. The baby bear turned in Justin's direction and smiled as it started running toward him. Justin turned and ran with the young bear chasing after him. He would fight the bear if needed, but this was just a cub. He couldn't hurt a baby animal. Justin dove into the roots of a tree, trying to reach a space too small for the bear to reach. Only problem was the roots were too thick for him to get through.

"Mama!" the cub called out. "Mama, look!"

The bear reached his claws out, trying to get Justin. He gulped as the claw cut at his shirt. He was trapped with no way to scare the bear off.

The mother bear walked toward her cub and Justin, the ground shaking with every step she took.

"What's this, Mama?" the cub asked.

The bear looked at Justin and pressed her nose into the roots, sniffing him out. Justin dug his fingers into the wood as his fur stood. He was going to get sucked into the bear's nostrils.

"Why, it's a rat!" she exclaimed surprised. "I didn't know there were rats out here."

"Can I eat it?" the cub asked.

"You caught it", she smiled. "You may have it for breakfast."

The cub smiled as he reached his claws into the roots, trying to get Justin. The mother bear watched proudly. Justin gasped as the cub's claws hooked into his shirt. Just as the cub lifted him out of the roots, the mother bear growled in pain.

"Mama?" the cub gasped.

Justin looked down to see the mother bear running around, rubbing against the trees. The cub watched her amused until he roared in pain. Justin fell from the cub's claws as he ran off.

"Mama!" he cried. "Mama, it hurts!"

"Hey, you okay?" a voice asked.

Justin looked up to see the source of a voice. A porcupine…was it friendly or an enemy?


End file.
